In democratic nations, voting is a method by which groups of people choose their leaders and decide public issues. In the United States, voting is considered one of the most important rights of a citizen with that right being guaranteed by the 15.sup.th, 19.sup.th, 23.sup.rd and 26.sup.th Amendments to the Constitution.
In the 1700's, most American Colonies conducted oral elections. The states later switched to written ballots, requiring the voters to sign their ballots. Some citizens, however, feared that others might react negatively if they voted as they wished. In order to address these concerns states began using secret ballots so that each voter could choose or vote freely with anonymity.
Today, voting machines are commonly employed to provide secrecy and simplify vote counting. Various types of voting machines are employed including, but not limited to, mechanical lever, electronic and optical scanners for reading paper ballots.
All types of state-of-the-art voting machines have one major shortcoming. None are equipped to allow an illiterate, sight impaired or blind individual the luxury and benefit enjoyed by others: the ability to vote in private. This places this relatively large group of individuals at an unfair disadvantage. Since these individuals must receive assistance to vote on state-of-the-art voting machines, they lose their anonymity in the voting process and are subjected to subtle peer pressure that may influence their vote. Further, the assisting party or official may intentionally influence or covertly lead the individual to vote counter to his/her wishes. Such possible voter fraud should be eliminated from the democratic process.